A Ghost's Tale
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: On Harry's twelveth birthday, the ghost of his mother suddenly appears in his room at the Dursleys', telling him that his real father was still alive. Will his father accept him as his son? Completely AU after HP1, mentioning abuse!Dursleys, sick!Harry
1. A Ghost's Tale

**A Ghost's Tale**

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._

**

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Chapter 1 - A Ghost's Tale  
**

Harry sat at his desk in his room at the Dursleys' home, trying to convince his sore body that he had to stand up and drag himself into the garden to do his chores. He had already been feeling unwell for a few days with a sore throat and a bad headache, and when he hadn't managed to finish his chores on the day before his uncle had used his belt to play piano on his back. Now Harry wasn't only suffering from the cold but also from a badly bruised back.

All of a sudden, a faint voice from the direction of his bed penetrated his ear. "Harry, my child, happy birthday!"

Harry glanced around, terrified as he saw a ghost hovering over his bed. '_Oh no_,' he groaned inwardly. '_I knew that I was feverish, but I didn't realise that my temperature was high enough to be delirious_.' His foggy mind hadn't even registered that it was his birthday. '_Is it really_?' he mused in confusion.

"Harry, I am Lily, your mother," the voice spoke up again, and Harry noticed that the ghost had indeed the features that he had seen on the pictures of his mother.

'_I must go and do my chores, and then I come back and try to sleep this cold off_,' Harry resolved and stood up in determination.

"Harry, can't you see me?" Lily queried as he took a few uncertain steps towards the door. "You should lie down and rest for a while. You can't do chores today; you're sick."

"Mum?" Harry asked in disbelief as he fiercely rubbed his forehead in a faint attempt to get rid of the fog that surrounded his head. "You can't be real, can you? I'm just delirious, aren't I?"

"Harry, I can understand that it's difficult to believe, but I'm real. I've been here with you as a ghost all these years. I tried so hard to manifest myself, but I was too badly hurt and had depleted my magic completely to save you. I only managed to form my ghost's body today, more than ten years after I was murdered. I know everything about how you grew up, and I'm so sorry that I had to watch helplessly and couldn't do anything about it all these years. However, I promise to help you get away from here as soon as possible, and I'll have a few words with my so-called sister before we leave."

Harry threw the ghost an uncertain look, thinking, '_It would be more than wonderful if Mum was really here, even if she was only a ghost, but that can't be true. I'm only imagining it_.' He sighed as a violent shiver shook his body and automatically obeyed when the ghost instructed him to lie on his bed.

"I'll deal with Petunia if she comes and scolds you. Vernon is at work anyway, and I hope we'll be away from here, before he returns," Lily said softly as she laid her hand onto Harry's forehead. Even if she didn't have a real human's body anymore, she could feel the heat her son radiated. "Harry, you seem to have a high fever, and I can't allow you to do anything but rest today. However, I'm sorry, but I need you to write a letter before you may go to sleep. Listen to me first though. I must tell you something."

Feeling too bad to resist listening to the ghost, Harry turned to his side, glad to be able to rest his achy head on the pillow, and threw his mother's ghost a questioning look. "All right, Mum," he said softly.

"Harry, your father is alive. James was not your father; however, due to the circumstances I had to make everyone believe that he was. Before I married James, I was together with someone else, with someone I really loved," Lily continued, and Harry had the impression as if she was fighting back a sob. '_Can ghosts cry?_' he mused, but Lily already went on, "but he had to leave and told me we couldn't remain together because he was working for the Dark Lord and it would be too dangerous for me. I should marry James. I didn't agree at all, but he never showed up again. He left me, because he didn't want anything bad to happen to me."

Harry instinctively reached out for his mother's hand, only to notice that he couldn't grab it but merely felt a cool breeze on his hand. "It's all right, sweetie," Lily whispered. "Only after getting together with James, I realised that I was pregnant with you. In order to make everyone believe that you were his son, I talked James into marrying as soon as possible and magically prolonged my pregnancy for a month. I also cast several charms on you that made you look like James. Apparently, I managed to place them very well." Lily smirked. "Not even James realised that you were not his son but that of his greatest childhood enemy."

Harry let out a snort that turned into a harsh cough, causing the ghost to throw him a worried look. "Harry, that cold will turn into pneumonia, if we don't do anything against it. Your overall health condition leaves a lot to be desired, due to the fact that Petunia always neglected you when you were ill. We need to contact your father quickly, so that he can give you a few potions. Try to get up and write a letter."

"All right, but... Who is my father then? Do I know him?" Harry asked hoarsely, looking at Lily in expectation.

"Severus," Lily replied softly, "the only man I ever really loved."

"Severus as in Severus Snape, the greasy git and Potions Master?" Harry nearly choked as he croaked, "The man hates me more than anything else. How can he be my father?"

Lily chuckled and brushed a soft kiss against her son's hot forehead. "Don't make yourself so upset; you'll only bring your fever up even more. Severus doesn't know that you're his son. I never had the opportunity to tell him before I died."

'_That felt good_,' Harry mused, smiling at his mother, who proceeded to gently stroke his flushed cheeks. "That feels so good," he whispered, unconsciously leaning into the cool breeze he felt from his mother's ghost's hand. Finally, he slowly sat up and waited for the dizziness to pass before he dragged himself to his desk, placing a piece of paper and a ball pen in front of himself. "Now, what should I write? He won't believe me anyway. He thinks I'm an attention seeking brat and will throw my letter away as soon as he receives it."

Lily sighed and began to dictate him a letter to her former husband.

'_Dear Professor Snape,  
I'm sorry to disturb you during the summer holidays, especially as I have very disturbing news, which I still can't believe myself. This morning, my mother's ghost showed up here in my room. She told me that she had finally managed to manifest her ghost form after ten years. She said that she urgently needs to speak with you, and that she asks you to come here as soon as possible.  
In case you won't believe me she said to tell you something no one else would know: "The Estonica potion with a sip of Cassis." She told me you would know what she means.  
Please believe me and come. We're waiting for you.  
Yours sincerely,  
Lily Evans and Harry_.'

Harry fastened the letter to Hedwig's foot and instructed her to hand it to Professor Snape. "Hurry up please," he told his familiar, "it's urgent." Turning back to the ghost, he queried, "Lily Evans? Wouldn't that be Lily Potter?"

"After officially divorcing from Severus in order to marry James, I changed my name back to Evans. Everyone thought of course that I was Lily Potter, but in fact I never took his name," Lily replied, chuckling.

"I still can't believe that you were married to Snape," Harry croaked. "Did everyone at Hogwarts know about that? I wonder why no one told me."

"Only Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey knew, because I was very close to them, no one else. Now back to bed with you," Lily said in a firm voice that caused Harry to obey instinctively. "Before you were born, I worked as a Mediwitch at St. Mungo's. Therefore, I have enough experience to be able to see how ill you are," Lily said worriedly. "I don't know if I'll be able to cast spells in this ghost form; however, at least at the moment I probably can't, because I used a lot of magic by manifesting into my ghost's form. Maybe if I don't do any magic for a while, I'll be able to cast spells again. Let me try anyway."

"All right," Harry replied and closed his achy eyes, unaware of the fact that his mother's ghost gently waved her hand over him, causing his skin to considerably cool down as his temperature dropped a degree. With another wave of the ghost's hand, he fell into a light slumber.

'_I hope Severus will believe Harry and come_,' Lily mused as she hovered next to her son and watched him sleep in concern. '_Harry needs more help than I'll be able to give him, and it's time for Sev to know and accept him as his son. I hope that he'll be willing to do so; after all he seems to hate Harry as much as he hated James, even if Harry didn't do as much as raise a finger against him. Harry is such a sweet child, but now I'm able to talk with people, and I'll tell the Headmaster about the abuse he is suffering at Pet's home, and I'll ask Poppy to do a thorough check on him that'll confirm the abuse. Hopefully, she'll also be able to take off the charms I placed on Harry, if Sev wants to accept him or not. There is no need for Harry to look like James anymore, and if Sev is not willing to help, I'll ask Minerva to take Harry to the Ministry and change his name to Harry Severus Evans and become his guardian. Harry has already suffered too much_.'

In the meantime, Hedwig approached Hogwarts, heading straight for the dungeons in search of Professor Snape.

_

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tbc..._

_I'm sorry - I know I should work on my many unfinished stories, but unfortunately, my muse disagrees because she has too many ideas. I hope you enjoyed the chapter nonetheless._


	2. The Rescue

**A Ghost's Tale - by Healer Pomfrey**

**2 – The Rescue**

Severus Snape was sitting at his desk, deep engrossed in his lesson plans for the upcoming school year. '_Only a month left until these dunderheads are going to come back_,' he mused as he took two potions off the second year's plan to move them to the third year's plan. '_This should be safer, considering that Longbottom and Potter are in that class_.'

Suddenly, his attention was diverted when a snowy white owl approached his desk, holding her foot out to him. Severus curiously took the attached letter, wondering where he had seen that owl before. '_Potter_,' he remembered, groaning at the sight of Harry's atrocious scrawl. Frowning, he began to read the letter, while his expression slowly turned from disbelief to rage.

'_How dare that imbecile... He must somehow found out about Lily and me_,' he thought angrily as he screwed up the letter and threw it towards the wastebasket, groaning inwardly as he missed by a few centimetres. '_Potter must think I'm completely stupid_,' he thought as he tried to concentrate on his lesson plan in vain. The thought, '_Will a dead person be able to get a ghost's form after ten years?_' managed to push itself to the front of his mind.

Finally, he was fed up enough with his inability of concentrating on other things that he called the Bloody Baron, the House ghost of Slytherin.

"I've never heard of something like that, but as you know there aren't so many ghosts around, whom I could have spoken to. However, I definitely envy that ghost. Maybe if I had waited a few years, I wouldn't have taken on such a bloody form."

'_She wants me to come quickly, but what if it's just a bad joke? Of course Potter would like to fool his Potions professor, just like James didn't do anything but annoy me all these years. Why didn't Lily come straight to me? Why to Potter?_' he pondered. '_Of course she would search out Potter, because he is her son. A child is the most important thing for a mother_,' the voice at the back of his head, which he found extremely annoying most of the time, spoke up. '_She still seems not to have forgotten about me, considering that she wants to speak with me_,' Severus mused, '_if the whole thing is true at all. On the other hand, where should Potter have heard about the matter with the cassis? Lily and I were alone at that time._'

He finally picked up the crumpled paper from the floor and, deciding to find out some more about ghosts, headed to the hospital wing to speak with Poppy, his most trusted friend at Hogwarts.

He swiftly entered the Mediwitch's office, causing the Healer, who was just re-organizing her potions cabinet, to look up and smile. "Hello Severus, do you have more potions for me?" she queried, frowning as she took in his troubled expression. "What's wrong?" she asked in concern. "Are you feeling ill?"

"I can assure you that I'm fine," Severus replied impatiently, before he enquired, "Poppy, what do you know about ghosts? Is it possible for a person, who was murdered ten years ago, to all of a sudden manage to get a ghost's form?"

Poppy worriedly reached for the Potions Master's forehead, not surprised when he slapped her hand away before she could check his temperature. "I'm fine," he growled and, after throwing the Mediwitch an assessing look, handed her the paper he had absentmindedly managed to put into his robe pocket instead of properly placing it into the wastebasket.

"Lily!" Poppy gasped. "Severus, I know that you don't like the boy because he is the spitting image of his father. However, Harry is very different from James. I know him quite well, since he has spent quite a time in my care during the last school year, and I can't believe that he would try to play a prank on you like this. Maybe he is delirious though."

"That might be," Severus said, thoughtfully glancing at the letter. "Although his handwriting is always as awful."

"Severus, do you want me to accompany you?" Poppy offered gently. She had known the younger wizard from the time when he came to Hogwarts as a small eleven-year-old. She was the one, who had comforted him all those years when he returned to Hogwarts after being abused by his father during the summer, and it was her to whom he had confided about his love to Lily, the gentle Gryffindor girl.

"Would you really?" Severus slowly trailed off, feeling extremely grateful towards the understanding Mediwitch.

"Of course, my dear," Poppy said gently and suggested taking the Floo to Mrs. Figg's house.

A few minutes later, Severus hesitantly rang the bell at the Dursleys' door, stepping behind Poppy when Petunia, whom he only remembered too well, opened the door.

"Hello Mrs. Dursley, I'm Poppy Pomfrey, and this is Professor Snape from Hogwarts. We urgently need to speak with Mr. Harry Potter," Poppy said in her gentle voice, causing Petunia to frown.

"He is still in his room, the lazybones. Get over with it quickly before my husband returns from work, and tell Harry he'll be in trouble if he doesn't begin doing his chores soon," Petunia hissed as she waved the two freaks upstairs.

"She didn't say which room," Poppy whispered, glancing around the hall.

"Probably this one," Severus said, frowning as he took in the door that was secured with a dozen locks of several sizes. '_Could it be that Potter isn't as pampered as I always believed? Petunia seems to still have a grudge against the magical world_,' he mused, hesitantly glancing at Poppy, who nodded encouragingly.

Severus opened the door, finding himself in a sparsely furnished room. His eyes wandered from the shelf with dozens of broken toys to the bed, noticing in surprise that the boy, who apparently occupied the room, was fast asleep, curled up deep under his covers, so that only his nose, eyes and his messy hair were visible.

"Severus! Poppy!" a soft voice greeted them from a spot behind the bed, and the two friends took in the ghost in surprise.

"Lily! It's true," Severus whispered in absolute amazement, causing Lily to throw him a huge smile.

"Severus, Poppy, thank you so much for coming right away. Harry needs your help. He is very ill, and he is neglected and abused by my sister and her family. I've been with Harry all those ten years, and frankly speaking I'm surprised that he is such a nice child after all he went through. Anyway, Severus, I need to tell you something important."

Seeing that Poppy had already turned into Healer's mode and sat on the edge of Harry's bed, beginning to cast a series of diagnostic spells on the boy, Lily motioned the Potions Master over to the only chair in the room. In a quiet voice so as not to disturb Poppy Lily told her former husband about the parentage of his only child.

"Severus, I know that this must be very sudden and sound unbelievable to you; however, I can tell you all the charms I cast on Harry, and I'm sure if Poppy and you work together, you should be able to reverse them. They're very strong, because I didn't want anyone to notice. I might be able to assist as well, but my magic is probably not very strong at the moment. I feel a bit weak after manifesting my form this morning and additionally casting a cooling charm and a sleeping spell on Harry."

"You must not cast any charms or spells on the child as long as he is so ill," Poppy said firmly, before she carefully waved her wand over the ghost and threw her a stern look. "Lily, you have depleted your magic to a great extent. Be glad that you're a ghost; otherwise, you'd feel very sick at the moment. I want you to rest and not use any magic for at least a week. Is that clear?"

"Yes," Lily replied obediently, before she threw Severus an expectant look, realising that he hadn't said a word after her revelation about Harry. Since the Potions Master seemed to content himself looking from her to Harry and back in disbelief, she turned to the Mediwitch. "Is Harry all right? When his fever skyrocketed this morning, I was afraid his cold would turn into pneumonia."

"Yes, it's in the early stage though, and Severus just brewed a batch of the pneumonia potion for me, so that I can give it to him as soon as we arrive at Hogwarts. I'm going to take him with me as soon as you're ready," Poppy replied firmly.

Severus cleared his throat, forcing himself to take his eyes from Lily and Harry. Like in a daze he looked at Poppy and said evenly, "Let's go immediately. The sooner you help the boy the better. We can as well talk at Hogwarts. Are you able to travel, Lily?"

Lily chuckled and explained that she had magically bond herself to Harry, so that she had been able to travel together with her child all the time.

"So we can just ignore you, and you'll be able to come if we take Harry with us?" Poppy queried just to be sure, sighing in relief as Lily nodded reassuringly. "Very well then, let's take my emergency Portkey," Poppy decided and pulled a long necklace out from under her clothes. She slung the necklace around Harry's wrist, before she motioned Severus to grab it as well and spoke the activating password.

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews!_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	3. Planning and Testing

**A Ghost's Tale - by Healer Pomfrey  
**

**3 – Planning and Testing**

Instants later, Poppy, Severus and Harry arrived in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, and Severus noticed in relief and amazement that Lily was still among them. '_I want to believe her story, but Potter behaves so much like Potter Senior that I just can't believe it_,' Severus mused, absently observing how Poppy placed the child on the bed closest to her office and quickly gathered a few potions for him.

"Severus, even if you don't believe that Harry is your son, I suggest that you fetch Albus, so that Lily can tell him about the abuse he suffered by her sister's hands. Since Lily gave me the permission to do a thorough check-up on Harry, I'll use the next few hours while he'll be asleep to do so, and if my findings match Lily's observations, of which I'm sure, I'm going to report the Dursleys to the Ministry, so that Albus has to take Harry away from them in any case."

"If Lily is with Potter, he won't need his aunt's presence for the blood wards to work anyway," Severus said grumpily. "He could as well set them up anywhere else, even here at Hogwarts, and I'm sure any of my colleagues would love to take the golden boy in. I'm going to fetch Albus, but please let's not tell him about the parentage matter for the moment. Will that be agreeable with you, Lily?"

"All right," Lily agreed in a soft voice as she observed Poppy's every move with interest.

They didn't have to wait long until the Headmaster arrived with his Deputy Headmistress in tow. "Lily!" McGonagall shouted in excitement. "Even if you're a ghost, I'm glad to have you back, my dear."

"Thank you, Minerva," Lily replied, smiling.

"Severus, I understand that Mrs. Potter is back as a ghost, but a ghost will hardly be able to defend Harry against possibly remaining Death Eaters," Dumbledore said in an apparent continuation of the two wizards' conversation, while he slowly unwrapped a lemon drop.

"Headmaster, my sister would hardly be able and certainly not be willing to protect my son against anyone, not even against her own husband," Lily threw in sharply. "I've been there to watch Petunia and her husband abuse and neglect Harry for ten years. Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything against it, but I will not have my son remain in that house any longer."

"But where would I place the boy? He couldn't stay with people like the Weasleys, because he would endanger them," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

"Albus, I second Lily's opinion about the abuse and neglect," Poppy threw in. "He has several signs of untreated illnesses, and sixty percent of his body, especially his back, are covered in bruises and welts."

"Why don't you allow Mr. Potter to remain at Hogwarts, Albus? I'd be willing to keep an eye on the boy," McGonagall suggested gently.

"Minerva, you know as well as I do that students are not allowed to remain in the castle over the summer, except if they're a teacher's ward."

"What would be the problem with Lily becoming a teacher here?" Severus enquired, raising an eyebrow at the Headmaster. "If the old Binns ghost can teach History of Magic, I can't see a reason why Lily couldn't become the Charms teacher for example. Filius has told us often enough that he wants to retire."

"Lily could also become my assistant," Poppy offered. "She is a qualified Mediwitch, and I have so much work during the school year that I could very well use an assistant, even if she is a ghost."

"Lily, what do you think of Severus' and Poppy's suggestions?" Dumbledore queried, motioning the adults into Poppy's office as he saw that Poppy had stopped casting spells at Harry.

"I love both of their suggestions," Lily began pensively, "however, I don't have any experience of casting magic in my ghost's form except for two Healing spells, which I cast at my son earlier. Therefore, I'd probably feel much safer working as Poppy's assistant than as the sole Charms professor."

"Very well then," Dumbledore said, pensively stroking his beard, while Minerva poured tea in a few cups. "In that case, Harry could of course remain at Hogwarts. However, he still needs a proper guardian, who is not a ghost. During the school year, Minerva as his Head of House is his guardian anyway. Would any of you be willing to accept the guardianship over the boy during the summer?"

"I'd love Severus to become his guardian," Lily spoke up in a soft but firm voice. "I believe that he is the most appropriate person to raise my son."

Severus threw her a terrified look. '_I am appropriate to raise a Potter? I still don't believe that he is my son. Well, I could brew a simple paternity potion to clear that up_. _I merely need a few drops of blood from the boy_.' Sighing, he turned to the Headmaster. "Albus, do we need to make this decision today, or would it be enough to merely decide that he is going to remain at Hogwarts together with Lily as Poppy's assistant? I promise to think about the matter."

"Very well," the Headmaster agreed, contentedly sucking on his lemon drop. "Lily, in that case, I'd like you to accompany Minerva and me to my office for a while to see to the formalities concerning your post here in the hospital wing."

"I can assure you that Harry is in best hands here with Poppy," McGonagall said softly, noticing that Lily's eyes wandered to her son's prone form.

"I know that," Lily replied softly and followed her former Head of House out of the hospital wing and to the Headmaster's office.

"Poppy, please allow me to take a few drops of Potter's blood for a paternity potion," Severus said firmly, snatching a tiny phial from a shelf.

"Of course, Severus," Poppy said gently. "Shall I do it for you?"

A few minutes later, the Potions Master strode back to the dungeons with the small phial tucked safely in his robe pocket. He headed straight to his private potions lab and began to brew the paternity potion. However, while he was brewing he noticed to his surprise that he was slowly becoming acquainted to the thought of Harry being his son. '_But he is not only the spitting image of Potter Senior, which will probably be remedied when we cancel Lily's charms; he even acts exactly like James Potter_,' he thought, ready to kill the annoying voice at the back of his head that told him, '_You only thought he was similar to Potter, because you wanted to hate him like James_.'

The brewing seemed to take infinitely. Severus remembered the few times he had brewed the same potion for others, but it was a different matter to brew it for himself. Finally, he put the half-finished potion under a stasis charm and returned to his living room, pouring himself a glass of whisky. He normally didn't drink at all, but he had received a bottle of Scottish finest Whisky from Albus a few years ago. '_Well, why not use it at a time like this?_' he mused, slowly bringing the glass to his lips.

'_Are you being stupid?_' the voice at the back of his head suddenly hissed. '_You need your own blood for the potion as well, and who knows if it's going to work with alcohol in your blood, especially as you're not used to drinking at all?_'

'_Oh right_.' As much as he hated it, Severus had to agree with the annoying voice and grudgingly put the glass down on the table. '_At least a headache potion won't do any harm_,' he thought and quickly downed a potion, before he continued with the paternity potion. It was nearly two hours later when he magically took three drops of his own blood, letting them drop straight into the simmering potion, before he applied the last few stirs in curious expectation.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In the meantime, Lily finished the paper work with the Headmaster, grateful that Minerva took over all the writing for her, and accepted her former Head of House's invitation to join her in her office for a while.

"Lily, I'm sorry if I'm asking something too private; however, I was wondering why you contacted Severus of all people. I know that you were married, but I didn't think you had been on good terms after your divorce?"

Lily let out a long sigh. Minerva had always been like a mother to her. However, during the last year before she had died, everything had been so confusing. She finally opened up to the older witch, telling her everything about the reason for her divorce and the fact that Harry was not James' son.

"Oh, I understand," Minerva said softly. "Thank you so much for telling me the truth, Lily. I promise that I keep everything for myself. Now, shall we return to the hospital wing and see if Harry has woken up?"

Lily agreed, and the two witches returned to the hospital wing. Minerva took a seat on the side of Harry's bed, while Lily hovered next to his head, lightly waving her hand over the child to confirm that the potions were working well.

"Is everything all right?" Minerva queried, looking at the boy in concern.

"Yes," Lily replied and turned her eyes to the door that was just being slammed shut.

The Potions Master strode into the room, stopping right in front of Harry's bed. "I just brewed the paternity potion. The boy is not my son. He has no relationship to me what so ever," he said between gritted teeth, looking at Lily reproachfully.

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews!_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	4. The Truth

**A Ghost's Tale - by Healer Pomfrey  
**

**4 – The Truth**

Lily chuckled. "No Sev, I'm one hundred percent sure that Harry is your son, because I never even slept with anyone else but you. He can't be anyone else's son. However, as long as the charms I put on Harry aren't reversed, not even a paternity potion will be able to tell the truth."

"Oh," the Potions Master replied unintelligently. '_That might be of course. Lily has always been brilliant at Charms_.' "Very well then, when do you think we can try to reverse your charms?"

Lily let out a sigh. "That's of course up to Poppy; however, I'd think Harry should be well enough in a few days' time."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

During the next few days, Harry remained very ill, and Lily used the time to get acquainted with Poppy's way of leading the hospital wing. In the evenings, she spent much time with Severus in his quarters, knowing that Poppy would be there for Harry if he needed her.

"Lily, where are you going to stay during the nights?" Severus asked on the first evening, throwing his former wife a questioning look. "You won't stay in a Gryffindor dormitory with your son, will you?"

"Definitely not," Lily chuckled. "I don't want Harry to become teased because of having his mother with him at all times. Since I don't need a bed but only a dark corner to rest during the night, I'll probably remain in Poppy's office. I'm sure there will be many adequate places in the castle."

Severus cleared his throat. "You could always stay here with me, Lily. You know that I still love you and that I only insisted on separating because I hoped it would be safer for you," he said in a soft, silky voice, looking fondly at the ghost. "I've been missing you every day these ten years," he added in a very small voice, more to himself.

"Thank you, Sev, I'd love to remain here with you," Lily replied softly, gently brushing a kiss against the man's forehead. "I never loved anyone else but you... and our son of course."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

By the time Poppy finally deemed Harry well enough, so that they could reverse the charms Lily had cast on him before he was even born, Lily had already taught Poppy, Severus and Minerva the counter spells.

Harry woke up seeing his mother, Madam Pomfrey, his Head of House and the Slytherin Head, who according to his mother was his father, stand around his bed.

"What?" he asked lazily, struggling to sit up quickly.

"Easy, sweetie," Poppy said gently, pushing him back into a lying position, before Lily explained that they were going to reverse the charms she had placed on him, so that he wouldn't look as if he was James' son anymore.

"Will I look very differently?" Harry queried, throwing his mother an anxious look.

"I don't think so, sweetie. You'll probably look like a mixture of Professor Snape and me, and since Professor Snape has the same hair colour as James had, you probably won't look completely different," Lily replied soothingly.

"In the worst case you'll have your mother's hair and your father's eyes, but anyhow I'm sure you're going to look very handsome," his Head of House said gently, causing Harry to roll his eyes.

"Very well then, go on, or is there anything else I need to know?"

"It might hurt a bit, but I'm right here. I will not cast the spell together with the others but watch you, and I'm going to spell a pain relieving potion into your stomach as soon as I notice or you tell me that you're in pain," Poppy promised and nodded at the others to begin.

While Minerva and Severus waved her wands, Lily used her right hand to cast the counter spells to the multiple charms she had partly invented herself to keep her baby safe. '_Thank God Poppy is there for Harry_,' she mused, knowing immediately that Harry was in a great amount of pain as his body stretched several inches. By the time they finished casting the last spell, Poppy had given the boy a sleeping potion to reduce the stress he was under.

"Oh my, he looks really handsome," Minerva said, looking at the child in amazement, causing Lily to frown.

'_His face is scrunched in pain_,' was the only thing she could see as she worriedly glanced at her colleague.

"Harry is all right, Lily. Of course it hurts, because his body seems to be taking on Severus' body structure. He has grown at least five inches. I have already given him the strongest pain reliever I dare, so there is nothing else we can do at the moment. That's why I put him to sleep. However, look at his features. He kept your eyes and your nose, but other than that he looks like Severus."

"That's true," Lily said happily, glancing curiously at her former husband.

"You really fooled us here, Lily," Severus said evenly, unable to take his eyes from the boy, who undeniably was his child.

"Well, I believe you're in for some bonding time with your son," Poppy said gently. "He'll probably still be in pain for the rest of the day, but if you promise to take good care of him, you may take him with you into your quarters, provided that you call me immediately if he experiences any problems that Lily can't solve due to being a ghost."

"We promise," Lily reassured her quickly, and Severus scooped the boy in his arms and carried him to the dungeons, glad that Lily talked all the time and efficiently kept his thoughts from going haywire.

Back in his quarters, Severus laid the boy on his own bed, before he called Cicero, his personal house-elf, and asked him to add a room for the boy next to his own bedroom.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

When Harry's mind slowly turned back to awareness, he found himself in a small, unknown room, his mother's ghost was hovering next to his bed, and the Potions Master was sitting on the edge of his bed. Both adults were deeply engrossed in a conversation, apparently revolving around himself.

"Hello," Harry said in a small voice, causing Lily and Severus to turn around, facing him in concern.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" Lily asked in concern.

"Fine," Harry mumbled, uncertainly glancing at the Potions Master.

"I'm sorry, son," Severus said in a soft voice, "for not knowing that you're my son."

"It's all right, sir. It's not your fault. I'm glad to finally know the truth though," Harry replied in a small voice. '_He doesn't seem to mind me being his son_,' he mused, throwing his mother an unsure look. "Sir?" A sudden thought penetrated his mind. "How would you have named me if you had known?"

Severus threw the boy a surprised look, before he let his eyes wander to his former wife.

"We would have chosen a different name, that's for sure, sweetie."

"You'd probably be Alexander Severus Snape," Severus finally replied, raising an eyebrow at the boy that was undeniably his own blood and flesh.

"I'd love that," Harry mumbled as a small smile began to play on his lips.

"Well, provided that your father officially accepts you as his son, he can change your name, if both of you want that," Lily suggested, smiling at her two boys.

"Of course we can do that," Severus said absentmindedly.

"All right, and if you're at it, you could change his godparents," Lily said firmly.

"Who do you suggest?" Severus queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"Minerva and Poppy?" Lily suggested.

"Very well. The question is if Harry wants to know the whole school that Harry Potter is a Snape, or if he wants to take on a completely new identity, where no one knows him as the famous Harry Potter."

"I'd love that, sir," Harry said thoughtfully. "I'd love to tell Hermione and Neville the truth though. Ron would despise me anyway because of being your son, but I'd love to keep Hermione and Neville as friends, even if I'd probably be sorted into Slytherin this time."

Seeing his father's unbelieving look, he quickly explained how the Sorting Hat had wanted to place him in Slytherin before.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

During the following four weeks, Severus and Harry slowly became used to living together and being father and son. Even if Lily was a ghost, her presence helped the two former enemies to get along better than they could have dreamed of. Severus noticed soon that Harry was not at all like James Potter.

One day, Harry woke up and lazily enjoyed the sight out of the magical window in his room that showed the view onto the lake that was bathed in the rays of the late morning sun. An instant later, his father entered his room.

"Good morning, Alexander. Your mother has already gone to the hospital wing to try some ghost magic with Madam Pomfrey. I thought you could assist me brewing some potions for the hospital wing, after breakfast and only if you're up to it of course."

"I'd love that," Harry replied, smiling. '_Maybe brewing potions is not so bad, if he doesn't breathe into my neck waiting for me to make mistakes all the time_,' he mused and quickly scrambled out of bed, following the professor into his small kitchen for breakfast.

After an animated conversation about several teachers and students at Hogwarts, Severus led his son into his private potions lab. "Since you're my son now, I expect you to excel at Potions, although I probably won't ever give you best marks for your work," he sternly told the boy, quirking an eyebrow at the child, before he set up a cauldron in order to properly teach his son.

"That's all right," Harry replied eagerly, unsurely adding a hardly audible, "Dad."

By the end of the holidays, Harry AKA Alexander was able to flawlessly brew the easiest Healing potions used in the hospital wing just by himself.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

On the first of September, Dumbledore informed the school that Harry Potter would be continuing his studies at a small private school in Germany and introduced the new second year student as Alexander Snape, before he was sorted before the new first years.

"Slytherin!" the Hat shouted into the hall, and Harry/Alexander smiled as he walked over to the Slytherin table, glancing around the Hall to take in other people's reactions. While Ron wore a disgusted expression, Hermione and Neville were enthusiastically clapping their hands. McGonagall gave him an encouraging nod, Pomfrey looked at him in appreciation, Severus gave the impression of being very proud, and Lily was smiling at her son, hovering at the very back of the Hall next to the wall closest to the Slytherin table.

'_It's great to have friends and a real family_,' Harry/Alexander thought as he took a seat between Draco and Blaise, who willingly made space for him, ready to become his new friends.

**The End**

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Thank you so much for your kind reviews throughout this short story!_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


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